Gameplay Date 09-30-07
Players present: Mordek, Taneus, Brynn
Touring the construction project
After the crowd had dispersed and only my dwarven brethren remained, I asked them all to gather round close and take a knee. Once they are all close by I start reciting a prayer, but then in a quiet voice that won't carry far, I start asking them what is really going on in Nerom. I tell them that I have more friends with me and we're trying to help but we could use more information if we truly want to disrupt Aglim's ulterior plans. I get some incredulous looks from those around me, but one of them, his name is Ragnat, speaks up. He tells me that everyone is being worked all day long so that everyone is too tired to do anything. That most nights, he and the other dwarves are kept under guard on the second floor of the Scarlet Jester and that there is some High Cleric of Pelor chained up on the ground floor. The Greyfinger's are keeping him alive so long as the rest of the Temple of Pelor stays in line. He also tells me that sometimes people go missing while working the cliff face, but no one has ever seen or heard anything to figure out how. I reach out and shake Ragnat's hand in thanks for his help, and slip the halfling-sized dagger into his palm at the same time. I tell him it's not much for now, but I'll try to get them more in the future if they can keep up the pretense of coming back here for daily prayers. With our prayer meeting ended, the dwarves then headed off for food and sleep.
After they had gone, I headed back to the Inn to grab some dinner and wait to see if Taneus showed up again. After a few hours, I gave up on waiting and headed upstairs to get some sleep. The next morning, I decided to take my own little tour of the town. Heading north, I wandered near to the Temple of Erythnul, where I counted at least 6 humans with shaved heads. Then I wandered close to the Scarlet Jester... there's lots of revelry coming from inside, both male & female voices. But the windows were shut, so I couldn't get a look inside. Continuing northward, I next came to the Temple of Wee Jas and Nerom's graveyard, which stretched nearly to the cliff face. Off to the side of the temple is a mausoleum... the name "Helgar" inscribed in the stone over the doorway. A priest named Merrancore, greeted me as I drew near the graveyard, asking if I'd come to pay my respects to anyone in particular. I told him that I was just interested in taking a look at all of the construction down the cliff face from the slightly wider vantage point that the cliff here provided. He went back about his business, pulling up weeds that were growing amongst the headstones, but I'm sure he was also keeping an eye on me while I was out here.
As I neared the cliff edge, I got my first good look at the stairs that Aglim had the people of Nerom constructing. It was a massive undertaking. A great winding stair made it's way down the heavily reinforced scaffolding to the sea below. Townspeople were suspended on ropes from above and lowered up and down chiseling away at rock faces that stuck out too far and were in the way, or breaking off large pieces, which were then lowered down to the base to help shore it up from the ever present waves rolling in against it. Their are 2 orcs down at the base, keeping the people working with cracks of their whips, several more on different levels of the stairs doing the same, and a group of them right at the top overseeing the ropes to which the people are hanging from. There are also two ships moored out a ways from the cliffs. Long thick ropes stretching from them all the way to the top of the cliffs serve as a cabling system for baskets on pulleys, which are being used to transport goods to and from the ships. I began heading for the HIgh Temple, thinking that maybe Aglim would allow me to tour the construction site. As I drew near the doors, I saw Kerg grudgingly listening to Zelnus complain at him. He's going on about how his money is no longer the right color, that they were platinum and now they're just copper. Kerg doesn't really seem to care and tells Zelnus to get lost, then he looks at me as I wait my turn... "What do you want?" I tell him that I'd like to know if I can tour the construction site and was seeking Aglim's permission to do so. Kerg let out a low snarl as he went inside to fetch Aglim. While the doors are open, I can hear small bits of conversation coming from inside as Aglim finishes up to come outside. He's telling 5 orcs to get lost, muttering something about Pelor that I didn't catch. But as he drew closer to the door, I was able to make out something else. Aglim was being informed that the female companion of the dead guy on the horse had been taken to the Scarlet Jester for rehabilitation... whatever that meant... torture? slavery? prostitution? Couldn't be good, whatever it was.
Aglim came out with a look on his face that said "Unh, this guy again." "And what can I do for you today kind dwarf?" I tell him that I was merely curious to tour the construction site and see firsthand human construction techniques. Aglim seemed happy that he could get rid of me so easily and quickly agreed and let me go on my way. Heading around to the back of the High Temple, I tried to take in as many details as I could... number & location of the orcs, potential items to be used against them, the routines of the workers, etc. There are about 8 orcs watching over about 30 ropes anchored to a single control point behind the temple. It'd be really easy for the orcs to cut the ropes, sending 30 workers tumbling into the sea in the event of an uprising... gonna have to figure out a way to secure that quickly should the time come. There's also a well close by, providing water for all of the workers. I wandered down the stairs to get a look at what the workers were being put through and if there were any weak points in the construction that could maybe be exploited. The orcs didn't take kindly to my being there and not doing any work, so they promptly urged me on my way with cracks of their whips. As I was heading back up, there was a basket nearing the top of the cliff, being hauled upward from one of the two ships out in the harbor. I made my way over to the place where the basket was being unloaded, trying to get a glimpse of what it was they were receiving, but to no avail... crates and sacks hid their contents from view. So instead, I casually asked what ships those were and someone spoke up, "The Culler" and "The Limp Maiden." The orcs didn't seem to want me interfering anymore and told me to either pick up a hammer and get to work, or to get lost. I decided on the latter.
As I made my way away from the construction site, a familiar looking raven lands in front of me and begins hopping around, heading off in one direction, coming back again, then repeating the motions. Looks like Taneus needs my help again. I start in the direction his bird had indicated as it takes flight again leading me on. Trying to hurry without drawing too much attention, I kept the bird in sight as it led me back toward the Temple of Wee Jas and eventually to Helgar's Tomb. The mausoleum doors were open, so I went inside and found Taneus standing there calmly talking with 2 priests and that female elf I met the other day at the Inn... what was her name again? Oh right... Brynn Brya. They are gathered around a 3' x 7' hole in the floor where the altar used to be as it's currently been pushed off to the side. Brynn squatted down looking at the hole, looks at me, then turns to Taneus... "Will the dwarf fit?" Oh, so we've got a funny elf with us now. I gave her a dirty look and a small growl, then turned to Taneus. I asked him what's going on and he tells me that he managed to get into the basement of the High Temple and past the orcs trying to break into the room down there. He said the room was protected by a Wall of Force, but that he managed to get into the room using his magics and met a woman trapped inside. Her name is Miranda and she was able to shed a little light on the situation in town. She might also be able to help us figure out the map we had found in Teryll, but not while she's defending her library. She said Aglim was after a book, and that he was under the impression that she had it hidden away in her library. From what she could hear through the doors, Miranda had pieced together that Aglim was after the rumored Tome of Helgar, but she didn't know where it was. She had suggested to Taneus that perhaps Helgar's Tomb might have more answers and so he had made his way here, having bumped into Brynn somewhere along the way. They had searched until they discovered the hidden opening beneath the altar. That's when he had sent his bird to find me.
Poking my own head into the hole, I could see that it opened onto a room about 15' x 20' in size, with about 15 caskets standing vertically around all four walls with just enough space left for a small altar in the middle of one wall. Grabbing the edge of the hole, I swung myself down to dangle from the ceiling and then dropped to the floor of the room below. Looking upward at Brynn with a smile, I said, "Not afraid of the dark are ya?" She gave me a wry smile as I turned to see if there were any torches down here. I had Taneus drop me a lit torch from above and used it to light the couple of wall torches I had found. Anchoring some rope up above, Taneus & Brynn descended into the room to join me. As I searched around the altar, the two elves found a doorway hidden behind several of the caskets and began moving them out of the way. I wasn't finding anything useful at the altar, so Taneus opened the door to reveal a passageway. I took the lead to keep an eye out for traps and the elves followed behind, bringing torches along with them for light. The passage ended at a small library. Would the Tome of Helgar really be that easy to find? We began searching the shelves, but that didn't reveal the book everyone seems to be after, but we did find a secret door built into the south wall.
To be continued...
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